A Bit of Early Season Preserving

I haven't really been experimenting around in the kitchen much lately. Sometimes it's nice to fall back on old favorites or try someone else's creations.  I've mostly been making recipes from other bloggers and my newest cookbook, The Homesick Texan, which was a graduation gift from Mom and Dad.  Oh how I adore this cookbook!  So far I have made two different salsas, Austin style black beans, fish tacos, tortilla soup, guacamole, chipotle biscuits and gravy, and San Antonio tortillas.  There must be others.

This time of year I really start getting the canning bug, but it's too early for peppers, tomatoes, and pickles.  I like to direct my attention to freezing in the early part of the season.  Today I'm going to share a few preserving methods I use year-round that help cut a few corners in tedious kitchen tasks and help less food go to waste.

Ginger-Garlic Cubes

We use a lot of ginger and garlic around here because these two ingredients are commonly found in Indian and East Asian recipes.  These cubes really help to speed a recipe along and guarantee that you won't go to make a favorite curry dish only to find that you used up the last of the ginger.

This idea is from Canning for a New Generation by Lianna Kristoff.  It's too good not to share.  Now we are never without garlic and ginger ready to go for recipes.

•Use a 2:1 ratio of ginger and garlic.

Peel the ginger and cut into 1" chunks.  Peel the garlic cubes and leave whole.   Blend in a food processor with about 1 cup of water to form a smooth paste.  Freeze in ice cube trays.  Store in a large bag in the freezer.  To use, thaw the amount of cubes needed in the microwave for about 30 seconds, or stir directly into soups or the crock-pot.  I figure each cube equals approximately 1" of minced fresh ginger and 2 cloves of garlic.

Chipotle Cubes

Basically the same as the ginger-garlic cubes.  Chipotle chilies in adobo sauce are a staple in my cooking.  They come in a pretty big can, and most recipes call for only one or two chilies, since they have a pretty potent flavor.  To keep them fresh I freeze them in ice cube trays as well.  Open up a can of chilies, place 1 large or 2 small chilies in each compartment of the ice cube tray.  Fill the rest of the way with the remaining adobo sauce.  Freeze and transfer to a plastic bag.  I find that these are actually very easy to mince for recipes when they are still frozen.

Freezing Bacon

We really could eat a lot of bacon in one sitting, but that doesn't mean we should.  Even though it keeps for quite a long time in the refrigerator, freezing maintains a fresher flavor.  Many recipes call for only a few strips of bacon at a time, and then the package needs to get used up right away.  I find that it is very convenient for us to store the bacon slices individually so that we can use as few or as many as we need at a time.  I like to pull out a couple strips and chop them up before frying to make bacon bits for baked potatoes and big salads.

Take however much bacon you want to freeze and divide into individual strips.  Roll each strip up like a fruit roll.  Freeze on a baking sheet.  Transfer to a freezer bag.

Freezing Greens

We go through a lot of frozen spinach in the winter.  It makes its way into soups, casseroles, pastas, curries, and just about any place that needs some more veggies.  I harvested all of the spinach and Swiss chard in the garden the other day to freeze for the winter.

Those of you who know me know why this picture is so terrifying.

Take as much spinach, or any green, as you want to freeze.  Wash thoroughly and chop or slice into medium sized pieces.  Boil batches in a large pot for 1-2 minutes. Immediately plunge the cooked greens into a large pan of ice water to stop the cooking.  Squeeze out excess water and freeze in bags.

Batch Cooking: Homemade Ravioli

Homemade ravioli is somewhat time consuming, but so much fun to make.  It is nice to have ravioli in the freezer for quick meals topped with a simple sauce, with sauteed vegetables, in soups, or breaded and pan-fried.  I first learned how to make ravioli from scratch when I took a catering class in high school.  The girl who taught our group the skill works at the Ritz Carlton now, so I guess I can say I learned from a real chef.

Last weekend I set up the laptop for a How I Met Your Mother marathon and went on a ravioli making frenzy and made over two-hundred pumpkin and garlic potato filled ravioli.  The garlic and potato filling recipe is loosely based on my family's recipe for stuffed baked potatoes.  I think those ravioli will pair well with a caramelized onion sauce.  One Saturday soon I hope to do another big ravioli day and make chicken-artichoke and spinach and cheese ravioli.

For the Dough:

•3 cups all purpose flour
•1/2 teaspoon salt
•2 eggs
•1/4 cup olive oil
•1/2 cup warm water

Mix all of the ingredients together in a food processor, until a ball forms.  Remove from processor and knead until smooth, dusting with extra flour, if necessary.  Cover and set aside.  Make fillings.

Pumpkin Filling:

•2 cups pumpkin puree (or butternut squash)
•a couple dashes nutmeg
•a couple handfuls freshly grated Parmesan cheese, about half a cup, to taste
•salt and pepper, to taste

Mix all ingredients together and adjust seasonings.  Set aside.

Garlic and Potato Filling:

•2 large potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
•2 cloves garlic, smashed
•salt and pepper, to taste
•1/4 cup milk
•1 Tablespoon butter
•3 green onions, sliced
•1/2 cup shredded cheese- use Parmesan or cheddar
•1/4 teaspoon Hungarian Paprika

Place the potatoes and garlic in a small pot.  Cover with water and boil until tender.  Drain.  Melt the butter in a small skillet.  Add the green onions and cook until tender.  Mash the potatoes with the salt and pepper, milk, green onions, cheese, and paprika.  The potatoes should be the consistency of thick mashed potatoes.  Add a little more milk if necessary.

Divide the dough into eight pieces.  Roll the dough out to a rectangular shape with a pasta machine or a rolling pin, until it is about 1/8 inch thick.

Place the dough sheet over a ravioli press and use the plastic form to make indentations.



I like this ravioli press made my Norpro.

Fill the indentations with desired filling.

Roll out another section of dough in the same way as the first.  Place over the filling.  Roll over the ravioli press with a rolling pin to seal the filling in the dough and cut out the individual ravioli.  Trim the excess dough.  Remove the filled ravioli from the form very carefully.

Place on a baking sheet lined with a smooth kitchen towel.  Repeat until all of the dough and filling is used up.  Freeze the ravioli on the baking sheets for a couple hours.  Remove and place in freezer bags.

Food of the Month Club: Mango Salsa

Mangoes are my favorite fruit ever.  They are great in margaritas, chutney, desserts, or just on their own. When they were announced as the May Food of the Month over at La Cocina De Leslie I became excited.  While mangoes have such a nice, bright flavor that works well in a variety of dishes, I prefer them prepared simply with a bit of spice and tang.  This mango salsa comes together quickly and makes a wonderful compliment to grilled meats or fish, coconut rice, or just plain tortilla chips.

•3 large mangoes, pit removed, peeled and diced
•1 large onion, chopped
•1 red bell pepper, chopped
•2 cloves garlic, minced
•2 or 3 serrano chilies, minced
•A large handful of fresh cilantro, minced
•1/4 cup lime juice

Pit, peel, and cube the mangoes.  I have found that the easiest way to do this is to cut two slices lengthwise from the mango, leaving the large pit in the middle.  Score the flesh of the mango halves in a checkerboard pattern.  Be careful not to cut through the skin.  Flip the mango inside out, pushing the cubes apart.  Cut the cubes off of the peel right into a bowl.  Get as much flesh off of the pit as you can with a sharp knife.

Combine the mango cubes with the onion, red bell pepper, serrano chilies, garlic, and cilantro.  Toss with the lime juice.

Shrimp Spring Rolls with Peanut Dipping Sauce

For Mother's Day we had my parents over for a barbecue.  We went with an Asian theme for the day by having Korean barbecue ribs, which we wrapped in leaves of lettuce and served with chili sauce, a quinoa salad with a ginger dressing, and shrimp spring rolls with peanut sauce.

Wade made the meat with a recipe from Steve Rachlin's Planet Barbecue.  That is a wonderful cookbook filled with barbecue recipes from all over the world.  It gets used a lot at our house in the summer.  The quinoa salad recipe is from Canning for a New Generation by Liana Kristoff.  The dressing is made with some home canned sushi ginger and the pickling liquid.  It pairs nicely with the cucumbers and tomatoes in the salad.  And it's just cool to home can your own ginger.  It makes a nice project for the middle of winter when there isn't much else around to can.  The spring rolls are our own creation using some vegetables we had on hand.  Wade made up the recipe for the peanut sauce, which would be great in a stir fry as well. I forgot to take a picture of the sauce, but I'll post one next time we make it.

Mom loved everything and we had a great Mother's Day.

•Spring roll wraps, about a dozen.
•3 cups fresh spinach leaves
•2 cups very finely shredded cabbage
•2 carrots, shredded
•3 green onions, sliced
•1 red bell pepper, finely sliced
•a handful of fresh cilantro, chopped
•salt, to taste
•1 Tablespoon olive or vegetable oil
•1/2 pound shrimp, cooked and split in half

For the Peanut Dipping Sauce:
•1/2 cup coconut milk
•1 cup peanut butter
•handful of fresh cilantro
•1 teaspoon fish sauce
•1 1/2 Tablespoons tamari or soy sauce
•1 Tablespoon fresh ginger, minced
•2 cloves garlic

Fill a pie dish with warm water.  Set aside. Set the spinach leaves aside.  Mix the cabbage, carrots, green onion, bell pepper, and cilantro together in a bowl.  Salt to taste and toss with the oil.

The spring roll wrapper is there.  It's just hard to see since it's clear.

Dip a spring roll wrapper in the water for about 30 seconds, to soften.  Place on a cutting board.  Top with a few slices of spinach in the middle of the wrapper.  Place a few tablespoons of the vegetable mixture on top of the spinach.  Top the vegetable mixture with 4 shrimp halves.

Fold the bottom of the wrapper up over the filling, tuck in the sides, and roll up.  The wrapper with stick to itself.  Repeat until the vegetables are gone.

Blend all of the ingredients for the sauce together in a food processor.  Serve alongside the spring rolls.

Springtime Vegetable Alfredo

Wow.  It's been almost a month since I've been around here on the blog.  With summer around the corner and the garden starting to give us the first lettuce, spinach, and other produce of the year, I have a feeling that there will be a lot more blogging around the corner.

One of the things that gets to me about winter, besides the snow and wind, is the lack of fresh vegetables that are locally grown and reasonably priced.  I found that I did not put up nearly enough food to keep us satisfied throughout the winter.  This year we will be growing a much bigger garden and hopefully putting up more tomatoes, hot peppers, and frozen vegetables.

The other night Wade and I made a tasty Vegetable Alfredo with the year's first harvest of spinach.  Sauteed veggies, whole wheat pasta, and a light alfredo sauce that tastes totally rich was a healthy and satisfying supper.  Different combinations of seasonally available vegetables like squash and eggplant would also work nicely in this dish.  Pair with a fresh salad tossed with balsamic vinegar and olive oil and a crisp white wine.

Vegetables:
•1 Tablespoon olive oil
•1 large onion, diced
•3 large cloves garlic, minced
•1/2 pound fresh mushrooms, sliced
•1 large red pepper, sliced into thin strips
•4 cups fresh spinach, chopped
•2 tablespoons chopped parsley

Lighter Alfredo Sauce:
•1 Tablespoon olive oil
•1 heaping Tablespoon flour
•2 1/2 cups lowfat milk
•4 oz. neufchatel, or cream cheese
•1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
•dash nutmeg
•Salt and pepper to taste
•generous dash of fresh sage

•1 pound whole wheat spaghetti, cooked to al dente

Heat the tablespoon of olive oil over medium high heat in a large skillet.  Add the onion and sauté until translucent.  Add the garlic and stir for about 30 seconds.  Stir in the fresh mushrooms and red pepper slices and cook until the peppers become tender, but still have some bite left to them and the water released by the mushrooms has evaporated.  Fold in the spinach and parsley.  Cook until the spinach wilts down.

Meanwhile, heat the other tablespoon of oil in a small saucepan over medium heat.  Stir in the flour to make a roux.  Add about half a cup of milk.  Stir with a whisk until thickened.  Continue gradually adding the milk and stirring until thickened.  Add the neufchatel and Parmesan cheese and cook until they has melted into the sauce.  Season with the nutmeg, sage, salt, and pepper.

Fold the sauteed vegetables into the sauce.  Toss with cooked spaghetti and serve with additional Parmesan, if desired.

Cute Chick Deviled Eggs for Spring

It's been a long, long time since I last posted.  I had to really get down to work, but I have FINALLY finished my thesis.  Yay!  Now I'm excited to have some free time to do some crafts, gardening, and of course, cooking.

Today's post was made and photographed by my Mom.  Every year, for as long as I can remember, we have deviled eggs that look like chicks in colored shells for Easter.  They are one of our favorite food traditions. These eggs can be a bit tedious to make if you are making a big batch, but they are so cute it is totally worth it.  Bring these to a picnic this spring and be prepared for everyone to go go nuts.

•eggs, hard-boiled and peeled

•mayo
•yellow mustard
•salt and pepper
•food coloring
•1 carrot, cut into tiny matchsticks, for the beaks
•several black olives, cut into tiny pieces for the eyes

Set out several bowls or ziploc bags.  Add some water to each bag and tint with food coloring to the desired shades.  Place several hard-boiled eggs in each container and set aside until the desired color is achieved.  Remove eggs from the dye and set aside on paper towels to dry.

Cut a small slice from both ends of each egg.  Set aside.  These will be the "hats" of the chicks.  Cut each egg in half with a zig-zag cut.

Remove the yolks from the eggs and mash with the mayo, mustard, salt, and pepper, to taste.  Or make the filling according to your usual deviled egg recipe.

Pipe the filling into each egg half.  Add carrots and olives for the beaks and eyes.  Top with the "hats".

Moroccan Rice Pilaf

After making preserved lemons a couple winters ago I love to find tasty ways to utilize them in different meals.  The base recipe for this Moroccan Rice Pilaf comes from Put 'Em Up by Sherri Brooks Vinton, the same book where I originally got the recipe to make preserved lemons.  To spice it up a bit I used a few of the spices from the combination in the Chicken and Olive Tagine that we had a few months back.

I like this recipe because it is a great pantry recipe for times when the cupboards become rather bare in between trips to the grocery store. I sometimes serve large portions as a vegetarian meal with yogurt and flatbread on the side.  Small portions work nicely as a side dish alongside grilled meat or fish.

•2 Tablespoons olive oil

•1/2 onion, diced

•3 cloves garlic, minced

•1/2 preserved lemon, rinsed, flesh removed and finely diced

•4 cups chicken broth

•1 bay leaf

•1 Tablespoon curry powder

•1 teaspoon paprika

•1 teaspoon cumin

•1 teaspoon allspice

•2 cups uncooked white rice

•2 cups cooked chickpeas

•2 Tablespoons dried parsley, or a handful of fresh, minced

Heat the olive oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat.  Saute the onion, and garlic for a few minutes until the onion begins to sweat.  Add the preserved lemon and chicken broth.  Bring to a boil.  Add the Bay leaf, curry, paprika, cumin, allspice, and chickpeas. If using dried parsley add it now. Add at the end if using fresh. Simmer, covered, over medium or medium low heat until the liquid is absorbed and the rice is tender.  Fluff and add fresh parsley